Update 9.18 Common Test: Micro patch

Based on your feedback and data collected during the 9.18 Common Test, we landed on a set of changes that rolled out in a micro patch earlier today:

No artillery in Platoons. You were vocal about mismatched scenarios, when a Platoon of three SPGs was placed at the top of the list and the team ended up with three long-range support fire vehicles as their main strength. The other frustrating issue was frequent cases of arty giving its all to support fellow Platoon-members and totally neglecting the rest of the team. To eliminate both problems, we decided to stop SPGs from forming and joining Dynamic and regular Platoons. Removing the option to play in Platoons should facilitate team cooperation and aid the matchmaker in creating balanced teams. Individual Battle Missions were updated accordingly. We removed Platoons from their conditions.

Balance tweaks to light tanks. The initial balance settings improved their view range too much, blurring the line between light and medium vehicles. They had a large enough view range to scout efficiently by default. So, you could install additional equipment, train skills and perks to increase their firepower to the point where they could compete with medium vehicles. Along with being great scouts, they would deal almost as much damage as some medium tanks. We averaged out their firepower to draw a thicker line between these two classes in terms of their combat roles. Light tanks keep their trademark mobility, high camo values, and lower durability, just as they still outperform medium vehicles at scouting. At the same time, their firepower was reduced and is lower than that of medium tanks. It’s enough to retaliate yet isn’t enough to make dealing damage their first priority in combat. Their view range also decreased, too. Now, you have to mount Coated Optics/Binocular Telescope and train Crew perks to improve it from the default.

Update 9.18 is a massive milestone for us as it addresses several key issues the game currently has. The team has been working incredibly hard to make this happen, and, at every step, you have been there for us. Thousands of players answered our call and tested new SPG mechanics and Tier X light tanks in the Sandbox, and many more joined in to help us fine-tune template-based matchmaking, arty, and light tanks during the 1st Common Test.

As these major enhancements are nearing completion, we invite you to hop aboard the 2nd Common Test, take new features and improvements for a test drive, and share your thoughts on them with the dev team.

To get up to speed, you can check out the detailed update overview here: